Winning the Baker's Heart

Chapter 16

Hailie arrived just after lunch. Rey was sitting at the decorating table when she came through the front with Katie.

Kyle was surprised when she randomly appeared. Rey saw him glance his way, but the younger man was way too annoyed to meet his gaze. Who would design their ex's wedding cake when they weren't on good terms?

They greeted each other. Hailie was overly affectionate while Kyle was more reserved. Rey didn't blame him. He would be too if the person he once wanted to marry was acting like nothing had happened. He didn't get how Kyle was functioning right now.

He turned on his headphones and zoned out. He'd decided to hand-paint lilies on the bottom tier. The middle one would have roses airbrushed along the white fondant. He would paint the top tier gold and add some decorations to give the cake extra height. He was lucky art came easy to him or he'd be in trouble.

Once he got started, it was hard for him to stop. Lilies weren't as intricate as roses or daisies, but they were time consuming. If he had a stencil, he'd air brush them. He'd only found the rose stencil in the bucket. Luckily, Thomas had agreed to help make the toppers so it gave him extra time. He was still going to be working late however.

Across the kitchen, Kyle watched Rey briefly before he turned his attention back to Hailie. She was talking about the colors and tier count she wanted. She sketched it on the backside of the customer intake paper as she filled it out. He didn't know why. He already knew what flavor she wanted.

What he didn't know was what made Rey mad. Kyle thought they'd had a good night. He'd gone to bed happy, and for the first time in weeks, he'd slept well. He'd slept so well in fact he hadn't heard Rey leave. The bed had been cold when his alam had gone off at quarter to four.

Between going to bed and going downstairs to work. Something had changed. Rey was cold, and not the 'I'm busy, don't bother me' cold. He barely said two words to Kyle. The older chef hadn't expected a kiss good morning, but he really hadn't expected what he got. He had loaded up the display trays and had filled as many orders up front since Lilly was going to be late, completely ignoring the man he'd slept next to all night.

While Hailie was still rambling, Kyle managed to pull the sample cakes from the fridge. He would cut them to sell later so they wouldn't go to waste.

Thomas passed him three plates and three knives on his way back to the table. He saw the middle chef was helping the younger with the toppers. Kyle caught his eye and nodded his head towards Rey. Thomas followed his motions and shook his head, shoulders shrugging up by his ears. Kyle didn't know whether to believe him or not.

"Kyle?" He turned his attention back to Hailie. She was looking at him expectantly. "Did you hear me?"

"No," he replied honestly. Too honest actually. Her face morphed into one of anger before slipping back into a pleasant smile. "I was trying not to cut myself."

Thomas snickered, and he fought the urge to throw the plate in his hand at him. The middle guy was honest and excellent at picking up on social cues, but he was a sadistic bastard as well. He liked making Kyle suffer when he could. And he couldn't stand Hailie. If he could make her life miserable, he would.

"I said I was leaning towards spice cake, but Arman wanted white chocolate," she reiterated. She looked over her shoulder at Rey. Her eyes widened. "Is he hand-painting?"

Kyle's stomach clinched at the look on her face. He turned as she stepped forward. "Rey is very artistic. He made your sister's cake."

"Good! I want him to make mine as well." Thomas scoffed even though he tried to keep it to himself. Hailie shot him a nasty look which he reciprocated. "Is something funny?"